Revival
by katiebug123
Summary: Kit and Nita go their separate ways, but a threat to everything Nita believes in unites the two once more. What's the meaning of these crazy dreams? And more importantly: Who's behind them all? Focuses on Kit and Nita's relationship primarily. SPOILERS!
1. Missing Him

Revival

Nita and Kit have gone their separate ways after defeating the Lone Power, but when the balance of time itself is in danger, the two must come to terms with their destinies... and each other.

**Disclaimer: Wait, let me go check the mirror again... nope, I'm not Diane Duane now anymore than I was yesterday... (sigh) **

_Chapter One: Missing Him_

Juanita Callahan sat at her desk, staring absently into her computer screen. What she found interesting about the solid blue screen was beyond her, and she stared as it flickered once, twice, and finally shut off. Nita cursed and tried to bring the computer back to life, jamming her finger into the ON/OFF button.

"Come on, turn on, you stupid thing," she muttered. Nita half expected the monitor to answer her rambles, but she wasn't surprised when it didn't. Machinery had stopped talking to her after she split ways with Kit.

Nita sat back with a sigh. Even after all these months, she still missed him. She missed the way he made her laugh. She missed the way he would come over, unannounced, and her family wouldn't mind. She even missed the way he sometimes stole food out of their fridge. But most of all, Nita just missed Kit's unwavering presence in her life, his ability to completely understand her even when no words were spoken.

Nita finally pushed herself away from the desk and wandered into the kitchen. She remembered how the mood was when her mother was still alive: warm, inviting, and not oppressive. Now, however, it seemed empty and cold; a little like Nita's heart.

She opened the fridge, peering in. Nothing was absent. She slammed it shut, blinking away sudden tears. The house was silent, a harsh reminder of the rigid times her family had fallen upon.

Ever since her mother had died, they were having a tougher time than they'd liked to admit. Nita's father worked long hours at his flower shop, and often didn't appear until almost dinner time every night. Her younger sister, Dairine, had been away on active duty for months. Since both girls took their classes online now, it was easier to keep up with assignments, although Nita felt a little guilty for completing so much of Dairine's work for her. She left a short message in Nita's manual every once in awhile, but as to Dairine's whereabouts, only she knew. Nita had a strong suspicion that Dairine was still searching for Roshaun, but she was careful to keep her opinions to herself.

Nita glanced at the stove clock: 6:47 p.m. Her father would be coming home from work soon. She knew the whole scene by now: he'd pretend to make dinner, slamming some pots around, rummaging through the fridge. When he was done, her father would curse quietly and pick up the phone, dialing take-out. Nita wondered if it would be Chinese or Italian tonight, and found that she didn't care. She hadn't had a real appetite for a long time now.

She tromped up the stairs, heading for her room. She paused at Dairine's door, peeking in for a second. It was cold in there, and Nita shivered. Dairine's bed lay untouched, the faded Star Wars bedspread folded neatly without any wrinkles. A few letters of the Speech hung in the air, shimmering slightly. Nita put out her hand to touch them, her fingers brushing against them softly. She was overwhelmed with the sense of her sister. The glistening letters positively shrieked of Dairine. Nita snatched her hand away, feeling a bit forlorn. She hadn't realized how much she missed her little sister until now.

Nita shut the door quietly behind her. She entered her room, which was next door, and fell onto her bed. Closing her eyes, Nita resolved _not _to think about Kit anymore, and as always, her mind didn't listen to her. It wasn't until she felt herself drifting off that she allowed her mind to relax.

Well, what did you all think? You know the magic about these stories is that you can click that little purple button down there and tell me what you think. Please? Cyber-Oreos for all my reviewers!


	2. The Dream

Revival

Thank you all so much for your lovely reviews! It really inspires me! Here's the next chapter… I know it's REALLY short, but please, bear with me. It was a good place to end when I was writing it.

**Disclaimer: Nope, still not Diane Duane. I'm flattered that you think I am though.**

_Chapter Two: The Dream_

_The weird thing about the dream was that Nita _knew_ she was dreaming. She was in school, in first period, sitting at her desk. She gaped at it, her fingers tracing obscene words scribbled into the hard plastic. That's how she knew she was dreaming; Dairine and she had been taking online classes for almost a year._

_Nita watched her fellow classmates file in the room, all of them looking tired and cranky. A couple of guys were sprawled in the desks in the back; Nita could just make out a few whispers like "…I've never seen a chick drink so much…" and "…it's nothing compared to what happened after we got home…" Nita shook her head. _Boys will be boys_, she thought._

_She spotted her purse in front of her, and reached into it. Inside she found a brush, a mirror, her class schedule, and her manual, among other random items. Then she discovered a wrinkled picture at the very bottom. She squinted at it, and could only just make out the image of Kit and herself. She recognized her front door in the background and the plants that ran along the porch. Nita figured they must be sitting out on the front steps. Nita saw a shadow on the side, a person with raised arms. She noticed the long hair and distinguished Dairine. _

_But Dairine wasn't what surprised her. Nita focused more clearly on the photo and felt her mind reeling with shock. She blinked hard, and when she looked back, the image there was just the same._

_Kit and Nita were sitting side by side. They were smiling happily into the camera, and there, in between the two of them, lay a pair of hands. Kit and Nita's hands. And they were clasping._

**Mylittlecooldividerthingisn'tworkingsoImademyownisn'titthecoolestthingever?**

Again, I know it's incredibly short, but I _had _to stop there. My first cliffie. I'm excited!

Review button: "Click me! Click me!"

Thanks!


	3. Waiting

Revival

**Disclaimer: I really am getting tired of these, and it's only the third one! But anyway… I am not nor will I ever be Diane Duane. All characters, plots, and settings that you recognize belong solely to her and not to me. Darn it.**

_Chapter Three: Waiting_

Nita came slowly awake to find that her room was pitch black. Her gaze was unfocused for a moment and she tried to remember what she'd been dreaming about. Then it all came back to her in startling clarity: Their hands. Kit's hand and hers. They were _holding_ hands.

Her heart jumped. A bubble of—something—formed in her throat and she coughed. She felt the smile appear on her face even before she knew it was there, but a moment later her mood shifted. She could recall no photo, especially one taken of Kit and her. She couldn't remember them holding hands, like they were a _couple_ or something. And most importantly, Nita knew that she _never_ had told Kit of her feelings for him, forbidden thoughts that she knew would jeopardize their friendship.

Nita recollected the exact moment she realized she had feelings—_those _kind of feelings—for Kit. It was during her sixteenth birthday party, as cliché as it sounded.

-Flashback-

_It was a big to-do for Nita, because all of her deepest friends were there—everyone from the different planets she'd gone to, her aunt, an image of her mother (a gift from Them), and even Ronan (who looked very sour indeed the whole time. He and Nita still weren't on the best of terms since her vacation to visit her aunt the second time.). And of course Kit and his family were there, too._

_When Nita had opened all her gifts, blown out all the candles, and said good-bye to everyone, she felt a little put-out, because Kit had remained relatively quiet the whole time. She turned around from the door and there was Kit, grinning broadly and holding out a small, box-shaped package. _

"_I wanted to give this to you when everyone had left," he explained._

_She felt her heart rise. She smiled and took the little gift, unwrapping it carefully. When she opened the box, she went completely still. There, nestled between some colorful tissue, was a necklace so like the one that her mother wore that it brought tears to Nita's eyes. She took it out gently with shaking hands and undid the clasp. On the end of the golden chain hung a small, sparkling snowflake, perfectly symmetrical in its likeness to Nita's mother's necklace. _

_She looked up at Kit, trying to keep the tears from leaking out of her eyes. "Where did you find this?" she whispered._

_Kit looked pleased with himself, and his look softened when he replied. "I found it at an old antique store when I went shopping there, looking for a silver fork to complete a wizardry." He took the chain from her and motioned for her to turn around. "I remembered what your mom's looked like, so I bought it."_

_Nita felt his breath stir the little hairs on the back of her neck as he clasped the necklace together. And that's when she knew that she, Nita, the avoider of boys, had fallen for her very best friend._

-End Flashback-

Nita shivered as she rose out of bed and flicked on the light. Her alarm clock read 9:42 p.m.

Nita wandered downstairs and noted the flashing red light on the answering machine. Covering a yawn, she dutifully pressed the button.

"You have one new message," the polite voice over the machine told her, and she frowned, because she knew that this wasn't the _only_ thing answering machines could say. And some of it wasn't all polite, either.

"Hey, Neets," came her father's voice. He sounded exhausted, even over the phone. "Just wanted to let you know that a late truck of flowers came in and I'll have to stay awhile longer to pack them up. Don't wait up for me for dinner, okay? Order some pizza or something. Love you."

Nita pushed the delete button furiously. This happened all the time, and frankly, she was getting annoyed. Nita knew it was childish, but she hated being alone at night, and nothing was worse than falling asleep knowing she was the only one in her house. Of course, the few years of using wizardry had helped Nita's fear some, but you never could be too careful. Wizardries _had_ been known to fail.

Pulling her manual out of its pocket of air, Nita flipped to the back of it, searching for a security spell. She found one and whispered the words of magic aloud, relishing the feel of the Speech's powerful letters flit across her tongue. The familiar feeling of being swept along the current of wizardry was comforting, because after all the changes that had turned Nita's life upside-down, this one thing always remained the same.

After the magic, Nita inspected the living room with squinted eyes. Small sparkles that denoted the Speech letters dotted all the cracks in the doorways and windows. She heaved a sigh of relief. Tonight the doors would open only for herself and the members of her family.

Nita sighed wearily. Her body ached for some reason. She walked back up the stairs to her room, feeling like she was wading through syrup rather than crossing the seven or so steps from the top of the stairs to her doorway. Nita knew she should wait up for her dad, but she was just so exhausted. She tried reading a book for awhile, but stopped after she read the same sentence for the third time in a row. She stopped after reading the same sentence for the third time in a row. She stopped after reading the same sentence for the third time in a row.

Fighting to keep her eyes open, Nita fell once again into her bed, this time pulling the covers over her head. She closed her eyes, already feeling herself lose consciousness, and surrendered her mind to the dreams that she knew were waiting for her.

**Well, what do you think? I made it longer for my reviewers -beams- cyber-Oreos for you all!**

**Review button: "It gets so lonely down here, all by myself. Why don't you click me and give me some company?"**


	4. Surprise Reunions

Revival

**A/N: **Thanks to my faithful reviewers—you know who you are! This one's for you!

**Disclaimer: I have never owned anything by Diane Duane. All characters, plots, setting, etc. were products of her very elaborate imagination. **

_Chapter Four: Surprise Reunions_

_This time Nita recognized the huge rooftop of the Pan-Am building. She was standing near the edge, peering out over the side. Thousands of Manhattan lights twinkled back at her, and another building's smooth steel surface reflected the brilliant moon._

_Looking down the dozens of stories gave made Nita dizzy, so she swallowed and backed up a little away from the edge._

"_Nita?"_

_She uttered a small cry of surprise and spun around. Kit was standing there behind her, a worried look in his eyes. Nita stared at him._

_He still looked as good as she remembered—better, even. He had grown a good four inches since the last time she'd seen him—her head barely came up to his nose. His skin was several shades darker than she remembered, like he'd spent a few weeks at the beach. Kit's eyes, though, remained unchanged: they were still the same chocolate brown that made her stomach flop every time he looked at her._

_She shook her head once to clear it. "What are you doing here?" she asked._

_The concerned look in his eyes changed to one of confusion. "You agreed to meet me here," he said. "When I called you earlier?"_

_Nita didn't have the slightest idea of what he was talking about, but she decided to go along with it anyway. Talking to Kit at all was a huge blessing._

"_Oh, that's right," she said, trying to sound nonchalant._

_Kit smiled, displaying his perfectly white teeth, and reached for her hand. She reluctantly gave it, unsure of his intentions._

"_Come here," he said softly, and to her great astonishment and joy, Kit pulled her close, his tall frame enveloping hers in an embrace._

_Nita was sure her heart would hammer right out of her chest. Kit clasped her close to him, his arms reaching all the way around her body. A strange desire shuddered through Nita's entire body. Her arms were crushed awkwardly between them, but her palms were laying flat against his chest. She felt the taunt muscles underneath and was glad the night hid her blush. It was all she could do to keep her hands from exploring more._

_Kit pulled away some to cup her face gently. Nita gazed into his eyes, and the degree of affection she saw there alarmed her so much that she started to pull away. Before she could manage to do so, Kit lowered his face to hers. She froze, and as their lips met, Nita could only think of one thing as the fireworks erupted behind her eyes:_

Too bad this is only a dream.

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When Nita woke up the next morning, she had no trouble remembering her dream. She sat up, pressing a finger to her throbbing lips. Emotion built up behind her eyes until a single tear leaked out, trailing a salty line down her cheek. She wiped it away impatiently. _Why couldn't that have been real?_

She jumped out of bed, a weird energy buzzing through her limbs. She glanced at her bedside clock as she left the room: 7:24 a.m.

Nita took the stairs two at a time. She heard her father clinking around in the kitchen, probably getting coffee. Since her head felt strangely muffled, like she had a pillow in there somewhere, she felt like she could use a cup herself.

"Dad?" she called, and entered.

Nita stopped dead, stunned. It wasn't her father in the kitchen.

It was Dairine.

Her hair had gotten longer. It fell almost to her waist, braided as it was. Dairine's large gray eyes--so like Nita's own--stood out even more than usual in her tanned face.

Nita felt her own eyes filling. "Dairine," she half sobbed, and ran forward to embrace her little sister.

"Where…How…I've missed you," Nita whispered into Dairine's ear.

"I've missed you, too," replied Dairine. She pulled away and looked at Nita with level eyes. A few seconds passed. "God, you've been through hell, huh?" she said finally.

Nita willed her tears to stay at bay. She was astonished to find that she and Dairine were exactly the same height. "When did you come back?" Nita asked. "Did…did you find him?"

A shadow flickered across her sister's face. She tried to smile, but Nita could tell it was forced. "I did," was all Dairine said.

Nita decided not to press it. She hadn't seen Dairine in months; looking at her now after so long was a little like seeing a ghost. It didn't seem right to invite Roshaun in on this reunion.

"Does Dad know you're here?" Nita asked. She led her sister over to the kitchen table and sat down. A basket of fruit sat in the middle, a little lopsided. Nita grabbed an apple and bit into it gratefully—anything to settle her stomach.

"Yeah. I got here late last night, right before he got home. I checked in on you, but you were already sleeping. And dreaming," Dairine added, raising an eyebrow. "Why all the smiling?"

Nita flushed. She had willed herself to forget that particular dream, and with the arrival of Dairine, had so far been successful. But now the images came back so fast it made her head spin…Kit leading her away from the edge…Kit embracing her…Kit leaning in to…Kit…Kit…Kit…

"Neets?"

Dairine was watching her, concerned. Nita squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block the visions. When they deceased at last, she tried to get her wild heart under control. A moment later a small voice materialized in her mind, so gentle that Nita could hardly believe it belonged to Dairine.

"_It was Kit, wasn't it?"_

Nita's eyes welled up again, and this time she didn't try to hold the tears back. _"Yeah,"_ her mind whispered back brokenly.

"_You miss him, huh?"_ Dairine took Nita's hand and squeezed it.

"_Too much to say."_

Dairine let go of her hand then and stared past Nita, a pained expression lining her face. Nita felt her own features stretching to match her sister's.

When Dairine finally responded, it was so filled with grief and regret that Nita's heart almost broke twice.

"_I know what you mean."_

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**Well, what did you all think? Tell me! By the way, I'm changing the genre on this story, because my first idea didn't quite pan out like I wanted it to. So there's probably gonna be more fluffiness than I originally wanted, but hey. People like the fluffiness. At least I do :**

**Another note: I can't find my _So You Want To Be a Wizard?_ book right now, so I can't remember if it's actually called the Pan-Am building. And I'm not sure if I got Kit or Dairine's description right. All of this is either from memory (if I'm right) or my imagination (if I'm wrong). If it's wrong, please say something, and I'll go back and fix it later. Thanks!**

**Review button: -begs- "Please….Please! You don't know how lonely it is down here! I'm dying! If you don't press me in three seconds, I will surely die the most painful death you can think of plus three! Please! Press me in three seconds….."**

**BOOM. Too late.**


	5. The Memory

Revival

**A/N: Thanks to Pi-fan92 for correcting me on the things I asked last chapter. Thanks for that! I reposted Chapter 4 with the correction.**

**In case you're wondering, this story _does_ have a plot to it. It's just taking me awhile to get to it. Thanks for hanging in there with me!**

**On with the next chapter!**

_Chapter Five: The Memory_

Life, instead of improving, rather fell a little for Nita after Dairine came home. She landed a job at the local library, shelving books and the like, because even though she was a wizard, Nita figured that a little regularity in her life would keep her busy from doing other activities.

Such as thinking about Kit, for example.

Although Nita stopped having dreams about Kit, hardly a day went by without her thinking about him. She wondered what he was doing, what he was thinking about (their mind-voices had faded about a week after the incident). She knew he still went to public school (courtesy of Tom and Carl) and was in his final year. He had probably made all new friends. Maybe he even had a girlfriend now. Or even worse (Nita swallowed), maybe Kit had a whole new partner. Someone who was much more powerful and interesting than she was.

Ever since that fateful day seven years ago, Nita's greatest fear was losing Kit as a partner. Even after realizing her true feelings for him barely a year ago, Nita knew she'd never risk that friendship with him. Although she wanted more, she wasn't willing to jeopardize the unique and prevailing bond that they'd established. It had meant more to her than she'd ever been able to tell Kit, but there were times when Nita knew Kit understood her unspoken fear, and he'd come up with an idea to reassure her.

And now, after that auspicious day seven months and twenty-eight days previously (not that Nita was counting or anything), that security had vanished in a single instant. One single mistake and their partnership was defunct. It made Nita sick to think about it, but unbidden the thoughts crowded themselves into her mind:

-Flashback-

_Nita sat there in the dust, fondly gazing out at the huge blueberry that was her Earth. She could actually vaguely see it spinning, and the motion comforted her. It was still a bit eerie to her that nothing on the moon moved._

_Kit was late. He'd asked her to meet him here over ten minutes ago. Perhaps Carmela, Kit's older and sometimes obnoxious sibling, had held him up. She was infamous for that sort of thing._

_As she waited, Nita's thought turned to a strange encounter that had happened that morning. She'd been on the way to visit her father at his flower shop (he nearly always forgot breakfast, so she sometimes brought it to him), and had just turned the corner onto his shop's road when a man bumped into her. She stumbled a bit and turned to apologize, but then she got a good look at the man. _

_His clothes were mere rags, the shirt hanging like a bag around his lean torso and his pants seeming like they were about to drop off at any moment. It looked like he hadn't shaved in over a month, and his wild, unruly shock of orange hair probably hadn't been properly washed in even longer. His eyes had that dazed expression of someone that possibly hadn't eaten in a few days._

_Something about him struck Nita as being somewhat familiar, but she couldn't place it. But all those thoughts chased themselves away when the strange man grabbed her arm so roughly that Nita screamed. He forcibly turned her face toward his, and she just registered his putrid breath when he caught her eyes and held them._

_It was like fireworks going off inside Nita's mind, akin to the ones Kit made her experience in her dream but much more oppressive. She tried to look away and found that she could not. Something about his eyes…Nita shivered as she gazed into their empty depths and read her own death there._

_Suddenly the man thrust her away from him. She stumbled and fell, and when she looked up, he was gone. It was like he'd never been there._

-End Flashback-

Nita shivered again against the feeling of his eyes. They still burned in her soul, and she knew it would be a long time before she got rid of the feeling.

"Neets? You okay?"

Dairine was gazing at her worriedly from over the top of her latest Star Wars novel. The small, oval jewel that hung against her collarbone sparkled slightly. Nita thought she glimpsed a word in the Speech, but when she looked closely, it was gone. Perhaps she'd just imagined it.

"I'm fine," she told her sister, forcing a small smile. But she knew that she wasn't. Kit had never shown up that day, and the incident the day after had prevented her from sharing that memory with him. Now she had to deal with the unpleasant sensations and try to puzzle them out all by herself. Nita felt her heart drop a few inches. She missed Kit terribly, and with Dairine still distant about the whole Roshaun thing, Nita had no one to talk to. She felt her heart start to rot.

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**A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter sounded a little angst-y, but things get really important after this and it had to be done. I just wanted to convey how wretched Nita's life is without Kit in it. Hopefully you'll all understand and forgive me.**

**Also, sorry it took me awhile to update. Things got a little hectic at school, what with first quarter report cards coming out in a few days and everyone scrambling to turn in late work and everything, me included. I promise the next chapter will come sooner!**

**The New Review Button: "Sorry about my friend back there, he just got a little overexcited. Perhaps you can honor his memory by clicking me and leaving a review? The writer says she accepts constructive criticism as well as just plain 'I read your story and it has words in it' review."**


	6. The Incident

Revival

**A/N: The story finally picks up here in chapter six, so hopefully a few questions are answered for you guys. If not, just tell me and I'll clear it up before posting the next chapter. :) But I'm hoping everything is clear enough so that I don't have to explain myself. Because that would just suck.**

**Disclaimer: I forgot to do this last chapter, so here's one to cover both: I have never, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER owned anything you recognize as the work of Diane Duane. She owns all plots, characters, and settings that I wish were mine. And if she isn't careful, I might just casually walk by one day and steal them. (Just kidding.)**

_Chapter Six: The Incident_

The next day, Nita was just submitting an English assignment online when she felt the vibrating of her manual in the pocket of air that meant she had an incoming message. It was the wizard equivalent of a text message on a cellular phone. She lazily reached into the claudication and pulled out the buzzing manual. Her eyes skimmed the short message without really reading it, but a second later her eyes zoomed in on the sender: Christopher Rodriguez.

Her heart immediately slammed upward to somewhere in the region of her throat. _It's from Kit!_ The humming had stopped now that she'd intercepted the message, but Nita could still feel her fingers tingling. Her eyes slowly moved back to the beginning of the message:

_Nita—_

_Can we talk? Meet me at our old spot in ten minutes?_

_Kit_

She felt dizzy, and Nita realized that she'd been holding her breath. She let it all out at once, but the giddiness was still there. She was excited to see Kit, Nita concluded. Seven-odd months felt like an eternity, and she was eager to listen to what Kit had to say.

Nita sent the message back—_Yes, see you there_—and sighed. She just wished she didn't have to wait the ten whole minutes. It stretched on longer than the seven months had.

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He was already there when she arrived, of course. Kit was just as beautiful as he had been in her dream, but this version was better. It was _real_.

He gave a tentative smile when she approached, and she returned it gratefully. Nita wanted so badly to throw her arms around Kit and welcome him back into her life, but caution stopped her. After all, they hadn't seen each other in almost eight months.

Kit must have been thinking the same, but he chose to ignore his qualms, because he gave her an easy kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for coming," he said, smiling into her eyes.

Her cheek burned and her heart fluttered nervously. "What did you want to talk about?" she asked, and it was almost a whisper, because she already knew. Nita just wanted to here him say it.

Kit's smile faltered a little. He drew a deep breath and started, "We need to talk about…us."

Her heart pounding, Nita uttered a chuckle that came out crueler than she intended. "You didn't seem so concerned about talking much on That Day." Her tone clearly demonstrated which day in particular Nita was referring to.

Kit frowned and sat down in the moon dust. He patted the spot next to him and Nita took it silently.

"Juanita Callahan, I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about." He turned to her and stared into her eyes beseechingly. "All I know is, I thanked you for walking me home that day and you totally freaked. You ran away without so much as a word, and I never found out why." Kit's tone turned bitter. "I kept trying to get in contact with you, but your mind was sealed to me." He took one of her hands.

Nita yanked her hand away and gawked at him, incredulous. ""Kit, what are you _saying_? You…you _kissed_ me!"

The image filled her eyes before Nita could prevent it from doing so:

-Flashback-

_As always, Nita walked Kit home from school. Since he had decided to keep attending regular high school, Nita made it a point to meet him outside the front doors everyday so he wouldn't have to walk by himself._

_They discussed the usual wizardries on the way to Kit's house (Tom and Carl kept them informed of the events happening in the wizarding world even though they weren't active at that time). Then, when the duo reached Kit's front door, he turned to Nita and said, "Thanks for walking me home, but you know, I could just materialize here and you wouldn't have to." And then, Kit casually leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth._

-End Flashback-

Nita shivered with the memory. She _had_ freaked. It had been so alarming and overwhelming to feel her over-played fantasies become real in a single instant.

Kit was gazing at her, concerned. He grabbed her hand again. "Nita, of course I kissed you! Isn't that what couples do?"

Her head was spinning. Maybe she had gotten a concussion along the way to the moon and didn't know it. "W.h.a.t?" she asked slowly. Surely she had misunderstood.

Kit shook his head. "I just…I thought it was natural. I mean, you certainly didn't seem to have an issue with kissing me before that day." He grinned a little.

For some reason, that embarrassed her. She rose and moved some distance away. Nita rubbed her face wearily and turned again the face the Earth. The bluish glow it emitted failed to comfort her this time. Below the surface of her planet, she knew the kernel to her world was blazing with life. Nita wondered about her own kernel.

"Neets?"

She turned. Kit still sat there, searching her eyes for something. She drew a deep breath and asked, "So…so we were a couple?"

Now he looked fairly alarmed. "Neets, yes. Don't you remember?"

She closed her eyes. Her thoughts searched every nook and cranny of her mind, rolling over her special memories of Kit and what she had felt—_still _felt—for him. As much as she tried, and as much as she wanted to believe him, Nita knew in her heart that shw would never recall that particular memory.

"I'm sorry, Kit, but I don't remember us ever dating," she whispered sadly.

Kit also rose and drew nearer to her. Nita felt his body heat and wished it could find some way of surrounding her, warming her heart. He touched her cheek and Nita realized she was crying.

"Kit, what's happening?" she asked. "Why can't I remember us? I _know_ I'd recollect something like…like you kissing me, but…" Nita felt her voice rising. ""What's going on? Why am I missing those memories?" She knew, from the look of distress in Kit's eyes, that she was hysterical.

Nita suddenly remembered the strange encounter with the homeless man. His eyes. The eerie explosion in her mind.

With the flash of sudden recognition, Nita grabbed Kit's arm to steady herself. She finally identified that flaming orange-haired man. And now she knew why she had no memories of the union her partner insisted had happened.

_The Lone Power!_

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**A/N: Well, this chapter was definitely the longest, I think. I seem to have a problem with short chapters. **

**Hopefully some questions were answered here. But not too many, I hope, because then you all wouldn't come back to read the rest of my story!**

**Please tell me what you think by clicking on that little purple button down there on the left and leaving a review. Unfortunately, my new review button is on vacation, so I have to resort to shameless begging.**

_**Please! Please! PLEASE!**_

**So…yeah. Leave a review, won't ya:) **


	7. Back On Duty

Revival

**A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry it has been (gulp) almost 2 months since I last updated, but I've been having some personal problems at home and just had to take a break for awhile. Thank you all for being so patient. Here's chapter seven, and hopefully I can get back into the groove of things :)**

Normal text is dialogue between people

"_Italics with parenthesis" _is Dialogue between creatures

_Italics _is thoughts or mind-voices

_Chapter Seven: Back On Duty_

Dairine looked fairly alarmed when Nita reappeared in her kitchen accompanied by Kit. She wondered how long it had been since Kit had set even a toe on their property, and found that she could not remember. Dairine hid a grin as Nita tried to squash the joyous expression she knew kept appearing on her face.

"Got anything to eat?" Kit asked. "I'm starving."

The girls looked at each other. "Actually…" Nita started, but Dairine jumped in with "Well, unless you like months-old lettuce, there's nothing here. I was sort of leaning towards Chinese, myself."

"Sounds good to me," said Kit, and as they headed out the door, Nita swore she heard _"It's not my fault you people never feed me…!"_ coming from the direction of the fridge.

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The trio decided to go get Chinese food the old-fashioned way: by walking. As they walked along the sidewalk, Nita checked her watch: 11:52 p.m.

"By the way," she asked, breaking the strange silence that had descended upon the group, "Kit, why aren't you in school?"

He looked a bit sheepish. "Actually, I haven't been to school for almost a week." Nita had started to frown by the third word, so Kit finished quickly, "But it's because I'm on active duty!"

Nita stared at him in surprise. She hastily reached into her manual's claudication and pulled it out. Flipping to the back, she read that she, too, was on errantry.

"So am I!" Nita exclaimed.

Dairine grabbed the manual and read the stats listed there. "Both of your guys' power has increased," she observed. She flipped back a page. "Mine's the same." She handed the handbook back to Nita, who dropped it back into the wizardry "pocket".

_Why are we on active duty?_ Nita wondered, and she was pleasantly surprised when Kit answered her.

_We should go to Tom and Carl's,_ he told her silently. _They'll be able to brief us on our mission_.

Dairine watched the unspoken exchange and felt her stomach twist. She told herself that she was just hungry, but deep down in her kernel she knew the truth: she terribly missed having a wizard partner. One wizard partner, in particular.

They came up to the dim, flickering sign of the Red Panda and stopped. They glanced at each other and raised their eyebrows.

"Sorry, but I don't feel like eating anything right now," Nita ventured first and was relieved when both Dairine and Kit nodded their heads in agreement.

"I actually have something that I'm supposed to be working on with Spot," Dairine said. "Catch you guys later." She whispered a few syllables in the Speech and disappeared with a _pop_.

"We should go see Tom and Carl," Kit said, and started to say the words that would take them to Tom and Carl's backyard.

"Wait," Nita said, but stopped. Kit looked at her expectantly. "I'm just… I'm glad we're friends again, Kit," she finished lamely.

He came close and said "Me, too," in such a way that she felt her whole body quiver.

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**A/N: Alright, alright, I know it's just a filler chapter, but hey. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things and I actually changed the entire outcome of this story from what I had. I think it's better, but you all will just have to tell me what you think.**

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	8. Visiting Tom and Carl

Revival

**Author Note: I realize it's been waaay too long since I've last updated, but some issues at home and school has kept me busy beyond belief. Not to mention the fact that the Writer's Block Monster had a firm grip on me, but I think I finally know where this story is going. But anyway, excuses just won't do, so, now without further ado… here's the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, in any way, the works of Diane Duane, including the Young Wizards series.**

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_Chapter Eight: Visiting Tom and Carl_

"So…You both definitely think the Lone Power's the one behind all this?" Kit asked.

Tom glanced at Carl, whose rear end and legs were the only things that were visible from beneath the kitchen sink, and nodded. "There's no doubt that the Lone Power is hungry for this world's kernel, and he seems to be growing increasingly desperate to resort to any means to get it. But the question is…" Tom looked uncharacteristically somber. "The question is: Why is he working so hard to disrupt just one wizard's life?"

Nita flushed as they both considered her. "I didn't ask for this," she mumbled.

Tom smiled. "Of course you didn't," he said kindly, patting her wrist. "But it's well known that you have very powerful wizardries brewing in you."

"And it's easy for the LP to be jealous of you," added Carl, emerging at last from under the sink. Water stains darkened hid blue shirt and he looked a bit cross. He picked up a rag from the table and wiped his hands. "You two were the most powerful young wizards when you first took the Oath, until Dairine came along." He tossed the rag into the sink.

"Then why isn't Dairine involved in all this?" Nita demanded. She hated being the one responsible for harboring all this confusion.

Carl shrugged. "You've already had a history with the Lone Power. Who's to say that he doesn't want to finish that history with you?"

Nita shuddered. That sounded like a menacing omen is she ever heard one.

"Well, if we're done here, I'd better get home," Kit said, pushing back his chair and standing. "Mom thinks I'm at dinner with Nita, and if I'm not home soon—"

"Wait a minute," Tom interrupted. He also stood. "Since we know that the Lone Power is bullying you now, Nita," he said, turning to her, "there are small precautions you can take so that you re ready at all times."

Little chills prickled down Nita's spine. She tried not to think about what sort of things she might have to be ready for.

"Nita."

She turned to Kit, who was looking into her eyes. "You don't have to be afraid," he said. The worry in his eyes he kept trying to push away filled her with respect.

Nita forced a smile. "I'll only start worrying when Tom and Carl run out of answers," she said jokingly, but the way Tom furrowed his eyebrows and Carl pursed his lips together left a sour taste in her mouth.

"Um…what sort of precautions should Nita take?" Kit asked quickly, giving Nita a reassuring smile.

Carl heaved a gigantic sigh. "Well, as much as I know you won't enjoy hearing it, you may want to contact your aunt," he said, rubbing his head tiredly. "You could do with checking up on Ronan, too, along with all your other-worldly friends at their homes, if you want. Let them know what's going on, and also that they make sure to let _you _know if anything suspicious happens on their end."

"We'll try to inform the people upstairs of this," said Tom, raising his eyebrows knowingly. "Tell that that we have reason to believe that the Lone Power is up to trouble again on our planet."

Nita waiting expectantly for him to continue, but then realized that he was finished. "Wait…that's it?" she asked incredulously. "That's all the advice you're giving us?"

Tom and Carl looked at each other worriedly again. "I'm afraid that's all we have," he said gently. "The Lone Power is involved with you only right now. You need to focus on keeping yourself safe at all times and also by keeping an eye on everyone around you."

"So all we can do is watch and wait?" Kit asked. "Just be vigilant?"

Tom smiled. "That's what being a wizard means," he said sadly. "Watching and waiting for the bad to happen, and hoping you can stop it."

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**Author's Note: I know it's terribly short, but I do have the next part written and I hope to post it sometime this week.**

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	9. Taking Good Advice, Darn It

Revival

**A/N: Hey everyone! Look! I'm updating! **

**Not much to report, except it took me forever to type this up. Anyway, this little chappie is for all my reviewers, who make me feel loved in every sense of the word, and also to Oriana1, who inspires me every day and agrees to have lunch with me almost every week. Thank you, my friend!**

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs solely to Diane Duane and not, regrettably, to me. Some characters are mentioned that have not been seen yet, but those are also hers. **

**_Italicized - _thoughts or flashbacks**

"**_Italicized with quotations" - _mind-voices **

**Regular - regular dialogue or description**

_Chapter Nine: Following Good Advice, Darn It_

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"_That's what being a wizard means," he said sadly. "Watching and waiting for the bad to happen, and hoping you can stop it."_

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A very subdued Kit and Nita decided to walk home instead of magicking there. They walked in silence, Nita having to complete two of her small, nervous steps for every one of Kit's big, sturdy ones. The whole day had a sort of finality to it, as if something huge and life-changing would happen tomorrow. Several times Nita opened her mouth to say something, anything, to break the stillness, but every time the words got stuck somewhere behind her tongue. Finally she decided the silence wasn't _that_ uncomfortable and kept her mouth shut until they reached her front door.

They just looked at each other, her imploringly, he calculating. Nita tried to get the words out—_"I'm afraid"…"Thanks for being there" …"Would you like to come in?"… "Now what do we do?"…_ And all the while, her under thoughts whispering, unbidden, _kiss me please, kiss me please…_

She finally gave up and turned to go in.

"Nita, wait."

She turned back to find Kit gazing at her almost as imploringly as she had been looking at him a moment ago.

"Nita, I…um…" He looked at his feet. She waited for him to continue, heart hammering.

"_I didn't want you to worry about tomorrow,"_ he said instead into her mind.

She smiled brilliantly at him. The familiarity of his presence in her mind again almost made her tear up, but Nita held herself together for his sake.

"_I feel like tomorrow will be important, for some reason," _he continued. Stepping closer, he added aloud, "And I won't let anything happen to you, ever."

Nita felt a thrill go through her. Here Kit was, admitting that he cared, to some extent, for her, and she felt like she had been waiting forever to hear it. Of the millions of things she considered replying to this, Nita decided on the truth.

"Kit, I've always known that you'd be here for me. You've saved my life so many times that I can't keep track anymore, and in more ways than one." She swallowed and plowed forward so that she wouldn't start thinking. "If I hadn't stumbled across you that day in the woods, who knows where I'd be now? Probably lying in a ditch somewhere, all messed up from Joanne."

Kit opened his mouth to say something, but she pressed a finger to it. "I'm not finished." She kept her eyes on his. "I'll always treasure our friendship, but I think I've secretly wanted something more."

She saw his eyes widen. His mouth worked under her finger, so she removed it and clasped her hands together to hide their shaking.

"I've always known that you'd be special to me, Kit, and I was the last person to realize it." She thought of Dairine and smiled wryly. "So if something happens tomorrow, and I know it will, since we both feel it, I just wanted you to know—" Nita said the next part in the Speech, so he'd know that she wasn't lying—_"that I've always loved you, and I'll continue to love you even if you don't feel the same way in return."_

She licked her lips nervously, not looking at him. "I hope our friendship doesn't suffer for this, because that's the last thing I want, but—"

Kit's lips silenced her own. She stiffened for a moment, shocked, and then relaxed. His lips, she was surprised to register, tasted vaguely of chocolate. She shuddered, that strange desire flooding through her again.

"_Are you sure this is what you want?"_ she asked nervously. His answer was to deepen the kiss, nearly taking her breath away. She brought her hands to the back of his neck and knotted her fingers through his hair. Nita pressed her body closer to Kit's, the places where they touched tingling. He moaned softly into her mouth and pulled away, breathing deeply.

_So much better than my dream,_ she thought, careful to block that notion from Kit as they kissed again.

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They finally drew apart, both grinning stupidly at each other. A bubble of hilarity escaped Nita's throat, and soon they were shaking with uncontrollable laughter, holding on to each other as they slid to the porch floor.

Nita continued to giggle as Kit intertwined his fingers with hers. "I've wanted this for so long," he whispered, leaning his head against her shoulder.

She grew serious. "Even more than…before?"

He nodded. "I felt so confused when you stopped talking to me, so lost when your presence wasn't in my mind anymore. We've always been close, Neets, and when you freaked out like that…" He shook his head.

Nita touched a finger to his forehead, pressing it gently. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I know how you feel, because I felt that way too. _I just didn't know how to respond when you kissed me suddenly like that."_

He sighed. "That's just the thing," he replied, rubbing his hair. "We were dating before I kissed you that one time. Why can't you remember anything before that?"

"I can remember stuff before that," Nita replied defensively. She felt like he as implying that she had amnesia or something. "I just can't recall anything that happened between us that meant anything other than mutual friendship."

Kit sat up suddenly. "You don't remember us?" he asked, motioning to them. "Is there anything else that might seem out of the ordinary?"

Nita thought, and suddenly remembered that encounter on the street and at once understood. "The Lone Power stole my memories," she said steely. "He somehow…looked into my mind and took my memories of you."

Nita knew what they had explained to Tom and Carl, but the impact of this knowledge brought a new burden to her. "Why would the Lone Power do this?" she asked no one in particular.

Kit squeezed her hand. "I don't know," he said quietly. "But don't you think it's a good idea to follow Tom and Carl's advice, and talk to everyone about it?"

Nita groaned. "I suppose…But I'm not looking forward to talking to Ronan!"

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They headed inside, stopping in the hallway leading to the kitchen when Dairine poked her head out of her bedroom. Dairine registered their grins and flushed faces, and then she saw their clasped hands.

Silence ensued as Nita's smile faded. _What was Dairine going to say? Would she be happy for them? Jealous? Angry? _And under that was Nita's panicked thought, _Oh God, I'm gonna have to tell Dad...!_

At long last, Dairine broke the silence. "Finally," was all she said, before her head disappeared back into her room.

Kit started laughing. He ushered Nita into a chair at the dining room table.

"Well?" he asked pointedly.

Nita pursed her lips together, pulled out her manual, and flipped to the _Messages_ section. In the time that followed, she knew that she still had people loyal to her in other places, and it was a nice feeling.

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_Hey there, my little wizardling niece! _

_Sorry to hear about your little predicament over there in the States. You'll be happy to know, however, that everything seems to be in tip-top shape here in good ol' Ireland, although I've seen Ronan around town and he lately seems a bit moody. Have you talked to him? It's true, I do know quite a lot of people around town, but Ronan can tell you about all the goings-on with the younger people a lot more than I can._

_All my best,_

_Aunt Annie_

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Dai stihó,_ cousin. Nice to hear from you again._

_All is well here in the ocean. The waves are beautiful and the currents still gusty as ever. We've had no big problems since you and Kit were here. The Song of Twelve is not scheduled for a long, long while yet, so you can breathe easily and know that you and Kit will not be required to participate in it again. Hope you can figure this out, but if you need any assistance from us ocean dwellers, just let me know._

_-S'reee_

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_Hey, Nita. I heard about your problem from Tom and Carl. Don't fear—everything is fine here. From what I gather, everything that's happening is from your end only. If you need any help, give me a ring._

_Love,_

_Darryl_

_99999_

Dai_, Nita, and Kit, if you're there too—_

_I'm happy to note that Alaalu is processing just fine. My parental figures are also happy and I can detect no disturbances here. Sorry to hear that you are having a hard time there in your planet, but if you're up to a get-away, just come visit! You're always welcome._

_-Quelt_

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**A/N: Wow, now I think THAT was my longest chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it! Some reviewers asked if the conversation to Nita's friends would be this chapter, and I actually had no intentions of putting any of that here, but I decided at the last minute to change my mind. So here you go!**

**Note: I haven't read any of the books in a long, LONG time, so I realize that the character's messages don't really reflect their personalities. I tried, though! **

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	10. An Upstart

Revival

**A/N: Well, I'm a little disappointed in myself, because I have the entire rest of this story written out (thanks to my cousin for solving my writer's block) and just as I was going to type it into Word, I couldn't find the notebook all the writing was in! It took me almost the entire time of this lack of updating to find it!**

**The fact that it was under my bed is a different story all together, but we won't get into that. **

**Anyway, sorry for the lack of updating, but since I finally found my notebook, updates should be coming in a lot faster! I'll probably be finished in another two to three chapters, depending on how I stop each one. **

_Italicized words _mean thoughts or flashbacks

"_Italicized words with quotations"_ mean mind-voices

Regular text means dialogue or description

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything written under Diane Duane's name. Everything you recognize belongs to her and her distinguished publishers.**

_Chapter Ten: _

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Nita read the last message and closed the manual thoughtfully. She rubbed her head in confusion.

"It's what Tom and Carl feared after all," she told Kit, who had been reading over her shoulder and was now leaning back in the kitchen chair comfortably. "The Lone Power _is _after only me. There isn't anything going on anywhere else other than here."

Kit nodded, reaching his arms up over the back of his head and clasping his hands together. Nita watch the motion with interest, noticing how his arm muscles—_when did he get muscles? _she wondered—flexed and then relaxed. He watched her watch him, a small smile crinkling his eyes.

"You have yet to hear from Ronan," Kit reminded her, and although he still had that amused expression, she noticed his mouth draw a bit tight. _He's still jealous of Ronan,_ Nita thought, surprised. _After all these years, and after everything we've been through, Kit is still bothered by that fling Ronan and I had when I went to visit Aunt Annie._

She started to answer, "No, he hasn't yet," when a small _pop!_ of displaced air warned them of someone's arrival in Dairine's room. They both stood and quickly went into the hallway. Nita knocked on Dairine's door.

It was thrown open, revealing a scowling Dairine and Ronan himself, who, Nita saw, was looking quite unhappy to see Kit standing there beside her.

"I think he belongs to you," said Dairine waspishly, before she shoved Ronan out the door and shut it as quickly as it had opened.

After a briefly uncomfortable pause, Nita asked, "What are you doing here?" Kit just stood there, a small frown creasing his eyebrows.

"I got your message," Ronan said, his eyes darting from Kit to Nita. She noticed this and quickly led him into the living room before he asked any questions that she knew would be…embarrassing, to say the least.

Ronan looked around, taking in the worn carpet, the slightly-chipped-in-places paint, and fading furniture. Nita watched in mortification. She knew that her family was in rock and a hard place, but she was never really aware of it until now. Seeing Ronan brought back the last time he was here, and she remembered that he had been unconscious in Dairine's room and had therefore probably not seen most of the house.

Nita cleared her throat in what she hoped was a business-like manner and asked again, "Why are you here?" No time to get to the point than the present.

Ronan also cleared his throat. "I got your message, and I know that your aunt probably told you that all was well." Nita nodded. "Well, she doesn't know the young people the way I do," he went on. "We notice things that would otherwise go unnoticed."

Nita nodded again, and this time with complete understanding. All her life, adults had always told her that she was "too young to understand", or that "teenagers don't know anything about what is _needed_ to be known". She always disagreed with this, because sometimes, adults wouldn't, or couldn't, understand something if it danced in front of their noses.

"I don't know if you have picked it up, but a lot of wizard partners are splitting," Ronan said. His Irish accent made the words sound less harsh than they really were. "All over, people are breaking their partnerships. Remember that group of kids I introduced you to at the pub?" he asked.

Nita nodded, uncomfortably aware of Kit's piercing look.

"I don't remember if I told you, but two pairs of those people were partners. And both pairs spilt ways just a few weeks ago. And at the meeting with Aunt Annie and the rest of the wizards? Most of them are partners with someone or other, and about half of them are split, too." Ronan sighed and shook his head sadly. "It's getting to where you can't meet anyone nowadays without knowing that they once had a wizard partner."

"So, you are saying that no one is a partner anymore in your town?" Kit asked.

Ronan shook his head. "I'm not sure if it is just my town or what, mate. But while there are a few people left that are associates, even they are at odds. If they aren't splitting as we speak, then it's coming soon."

Nita sighed heavily. This wasn't a good sign. She had half-hoped that maybe this was just a local thing, something only involving her and Kit, but now it seemed that she wasn't the only one subjected to the Lone Power's tricks and games.

Kit filled Ronan in with what had happened since they had spoken last. Nita admired the way that Kit held back his coldness to Ronan, but through their connected minds, she felt that suppressed anger and jealousy, and she wondered why he had such animosity towards Ronan.

"It's getting late," Kit said finally, and he stood. "I have homework, despite all this, and I haven't even touched it yet." He walked towards the door.

"I'll walk you out," Nita said quickly. She excused herself and walked Kit to her mailbox, where she knew he was mentally preparing to vanish to his home.

"It was a little weird, Ronan showing up like that, huh?" she said, and when Kit turned to her, she actually stepped back at the look of disgust on his face.

"Why'd he even come here?" Kit said, his voice low and menacing. "He could have just messaged you back like the rest."

"I…I don't know," Nita stammered, completely thrown for a loop at Kit's behavior.

Kit leaned in suddenly, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Has he ever kissed you?"

"Wh…What?" Nita asked shrilly. _Where_ was all this protectiveness coming from?

"Ronan. Has he ever kissed you?" Kit asked again.

"I…um…" Nita knew she would never hide anything from Kit again, but she just wasn't sure if she wanted to tell that to Kit while he looked like he could punch something.

"Well… when I went to Ireland, there was this one time…" She could feel the heat of his glare, the judgment already in his eyes. "We kissed once, but it wasn't really him, it was Peach, and we…nothing happened, I promise! It didn't mean anything!" She was grasping at straws.

He didn't say anything; he didn't have to. The silence stretched on for so long that she _felt_ it.

"I'll see you around," he said finally, and before she could respond, he vanished.

Nita gasped, breathing so heavily that she might have just run a mile or two without stopping. She stood there for a few more minutes, her heart growing heavier and heavier. Nita felt like she'd just failed the most important test of her life and would never have the chance to do it over.

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Heading back inside, Nita remembered that Ronan was still there. She wiped away a few tears that she hadn't noticed and took a deep breath.

"Did you want anything to drink?" she asked, trying to sound hospitable, even though the object of her and Kit's sudden divide sat right in front of her.

He shook his head and instead patted the spot on the couch next to him. She reluctantly took the seat offered.

"Do you have a partner?" she asked suddenly, surprising herself. She belatedly remembered that the word _partner_ can have more than one meaning, and felt herself blush under his rapidly interested glance. "Wizard partner, I mean."

He shook his head again. "The closest I've ever come to having a partner was…you," he said, a small, knowing smile gracing his lips. Nita remembered those lips and shuddered inwardly.

"I work better alone," he said, and she nodded slowly. Ronan wasn't one to share anything, especially power.

He leaned in close. She felt the heat radiating from his body. "Why so interested?" he asked, his voice low and silky, almost a whisper. "Isn't Kit your…_wizard_ partner?" She couldn't miss the way he emphasized on _wizard_.

"Actually…" Her voice came out a squeak. She cleared it and tried again. "Actually, Kit and I… I mean, we are…" She floundered helplessly in her attempt to explain just what they were, since even she herself didn't know anymore.

Ronan leaned back, all his warmness gone completely. "You mean you are a couple now?" he asked frostily. She nodded, unable to speak.

"I should have guessed." Ronan got up, moving away from her. "I have to go, but keep in mind what I said about partners splitting." And with that, he also vanished.

Nita shook her head. She had not seen Ronan since their last battle, but she always remembered his unnerving way to make her constantly question herself. It was a merit she did not like of him, she concluded.

Then she remembered what he had said. Was that what was happening to Kit and her? Was that fight the beginning of their inevitable split?

Nita hoped not. Kit was her best friend, her recent boyfriend, and above all, her wizard partner, and she was not willing to risk losing him in any of the three ways. She refused to believe that their partnership was over.

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**Good? Bad? Ugly? I realize that both Kit and Ronan were completely out of character, but it's for a good purpose, I assure you! Want to tell me you opinion? Leave it in a review!**

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	11. The Lone Power

Revival

**A/N: Sorry for the updating time lapse. I have no excuses. I was just lazy.**

**This story is almost complete—maybe one more chapter, perhaps two. Remember to keep checking back for an update!**

**Disclaimer: I absolutely do not own anything that you recognize. All characters, plots, and settings are Diane Duane's and not mine, though I have used them for personal enjoyment and for the enjoyment of others.**

_Chapter Eleven: The Lone Power _

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After Ronan had left, Nita went back into her room and sat on her bed. She knew she was being moody, and she also knew that what had happened was _not_ her fault, but that did not prevent her from crying just a little bit over losing Kit again. She had finally found him after all these unbearable months of solitude, and after she found happiness again, it was taken away from her, just like that. She wondered if it was the Powers That Be that had the cruel sense of humor, or if it was just the Lone Power.

Laying her head upon her pillow, Nita could not stop a few tears from leaking out of the corners of her eyes. They slid down her cheeks, disappearing into her hair. Behind her, through the wall, she heard the click-clack of keys on a keyboard as Dairine typed something furiously into Spot's screen. It had always bothered her a little bit that Dairine didn't have a manual like she did, because any information that Dairine could possibly desire lay only a few clicks away through Spot's memory. It sometimes took Nita a few minutes to find the right page number in her manual, not to mention the time it took her to read through it all, trying to find the information she needed.

She closed her eyes, willing herself to drift off, but before she could do so, she felt a buzzing in the claudication where her manual lay, meaning that she was receiving a message. Nita eagerly pulled the manual out, flipping to the _Messages_ section, and the message she received wasn't from Kit (as she had hoped), but from Nguyet and Tuyet.

_Dai stihó, Nita!_

_Sorry we didn't return the message sooner, but we got a late call from a visitor—Ronan? Isn't he your friend? Anyway, he told us about your problem, and also informed us of the partner splittings happening around him. I guess he'd heard of us, and wanted to make sure we were still partners. Nice of him. Anyway, we're happy to report that yes, we are wizard partners, and we do not have any intentions of splitting up. Was that what you were worried about?_

_And by the way: How are you and Kit getting along? We have not heard from you since our trip to the moon!_

_Best,_

_Nguyet and Tuyet_

Nita closed the manual, an unfamiliar feeling of guilt flooding through her. She had not tried to contact Nguyet and Tuyet since the Moon, and their message only shamed her all the more. She had not had the chance to let anyone know of her reunion with Kit, and now it was too late. He was lost to her once again.

A sudden coldness spread throughout Nita's body. She took a deep breathe, trying to identify the emotion, and found that she was angry, indescribably furious with Kit and the way he had acted. She had done nothing wrong. Those feelings for Ronan that she had mistaken for attraction had long since been buried. Nita had always known that Kit was her real partner, for wizardry and otherwise, and this was how he responded?

Nita leaped off the bed. She angrily whispered the flow of the Speech that would take her to Kit's house aloud, just to feel them surge around her mouth, sliding against her tongue. She was wrapped in the proverbial current of the wizardry when she felt herself fade from her own room.

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Nita opened her eyes when that jet of magic faded away, expecting to be in the Rodriguez's kitchen. What actually met her vision confused her so greatly that she wondered if maybe she had hit her head or something along the way, causing her to dream of this image before her.

Nita stood in the middle of a stark white room. A colorless, fashionable couch leaned on one wall, and a stained white coffee table perched in front of it. The floor was of the same blank hue, white, but it was spotless and seemed to brighten the entire room. A huge mirror covered an entire section of wall, reflecting Nita's astonished face and someone else that had appeared behind her.

"Like it?" the Lone Power said, coming up behind her and murmuring in her ear.

Nita jumped, spinning about wildly. His old façade as the bum on the street had changed to a well-kept, handsome man who looked to be in his mid-thirties. A perfectly tailored black suit adorned his body, flaunting his near-perfect body, and his black dress shoes shone with a polished gleam. His hair was glinting, slicked back so that it looked shorter than it really was. Only the barest hint of stubble graced his cheeks and chin.

"I have to admit, I have always been fond of the color white," he said, raising his arms so that they encompassed the room. "So clean cut, so bright…yet very difficult to keep unsoiled." He turned and brushed an imaginary speck of dirt from the couch.

Nita swallowed. She watched his movements like a hawk, never looking away. "What have you done?" she asked shrilly. She took a deep breathe, willing her voice to come out less shaky than it just had.

"What ever do you mean?" he asked innocently, gracefully lowering himself down into the couch. Nita noticed that he was watching her carefully as well.

She shook her head. "You…you changed my spell. Altered it, so that I came here instead of going to Kit's." Nita clenched her fists with anger.

He grinned at her. "Neat little trick, isn't it? I could teach you how to do it, if only you'd allow me." The Lone Power patted the seat, indicating her to sit. Nita shook her head. He laughed, and the sound sent goose bumps marching up her skin.

"Why are you so resistant, little wizard? We both know that I could show you things that you have only dreamed of." His whole demeanor changed suddenly. He leaned forward, all affectionate pretentiousness gone. His eyes bore into hers.

"I can teach you things that you've never heard of, things you won't ever read about. I can show you ways to capture a mind without saying a word, ways to persuade someone to tell you their deepest, darkest secrets, ways to eliminate your enemies without flicking a finger."

Nita shivered. His voice flowed through her ears and mind, filtering through her thoughts like silk. She reacted to his invasion by immediately shoving him out of her head, putting up a magic block that would never allow reentry. "My only enemy is you," she said slowly, trying to maintain her shield.

He smiled, retracting his own magic from her mind. "And for the first time, my enemy is a small, insignificant human, a mortal whose entire life amounts to a mere eye blink of mine. Imagine how disappointed I am to find that you, Nita, are the sole reason that I am bound forever as the "Lone One". I am now known only as a destroyer, not as a creator."

Nita blinked. His attitude confused her; always before, the merest bruise to his character would have pushed him over the edge. "What do you mean?" she asked.

He rose, coming nearer to her than she would have liked. His body radiated a heat that she almost recognized. The memory was there and gone before she had a chance to consider it.

"You are the only thing that stands between me and this world's kernel," the Lone Power said. The way he said it made it sound like he didn't believe it himself. "All those other wizards on this planet—they don't hold a candle to you. Not even your idiot sister."

"Leave Dairine out of this!" Nita shouted. She willed her shield to grow larger, building it so that it now encompassed her entire body.

"I have left out your sister so far," he said, picking at his fingernails idly. He looked up. "But I have a proposition for you, and if you don't accept, then that may very well change."

Nita almost laughed. "Threatening my family members? You don't usually sink this low. You must be pretty desperate."

He lunged forward, clasping her chin in one of his hands. "Listen to me, you little ingrate!" he hissed fiercely. Forcing her to meet his eyes, he continued. "Join me. Leave your world behind. It is weak—its energy will run out soon anyway. Your people are destined to die without a replacement planet, but with me, you can live eternally. Your worries can be only idle thoughts, things that are hardly worth your time."

She wrenched away, tripping in her haste to escape his grip. "I will never join your cause," she said angrily. "You promise me eternal life, a place to live with no worries. But your promises reek of deceit and greed. You want me for yourself, to feed off my powers. You want me out of your way for this world's kernel, so that you can take it for yourself and turn it into one of your own worlds of darkness."

She got up, slowly backing away from the Lone Power, who was looking all the more menacing for being found out. "You can promise me anything my heart desires, but you can never replace the people in my life. My father, Dairine, the Rodriguez's—you can never substitute them."

He paused, a slow, knowing smile spreading across his face. "Rodriguez? You mean…_him_?" The Lone One motioned to something behind her.

Nita spun, crying out in surprise to see Kit standing there, looking about him with confusion. "Kit!" she cried, and hurtled herself towards him; but as she neared enough to touch him, Kit vanished.

"What have you done? Bring him back!" Nita screamed at the Lone Power, who was still smirking.

"I don't think so," he said lazily. He suddenly appeared right next to Nita, so fast that she jumped. "He is not important to you," he said softly into her ear. Kit reappeared, but he was small, like he was a great distance from where Nita and the Lone Power stood. Kit called out frantically, but his voice was silent—Nita could not hear what he said.

"Kit does not care for you," the Lone Power said, easing his wizardry into Nita's mind. "All these years, Kit has been your wizard partner, but how important has he really been to you?" Nita stood silently, transfixed by Kit's furiously waving movements and something even more sinister creeping about her mind.

"Kit has never needed you—he only felt bad for you when you stumbled across him that day in the forest. And had you never met Kit, you would still be as powerful as you are today—more powerful, even." The Lone Power whispered into Nita's ear, feeling absurdly pleased as she listened intently. "Don't you understand it yet, wizardling? Every wizard has his or her own weakness. For some, it is, perhaps, an inability to understand certain areas of magic. Kit does not understand nature nearly as well as you, Nita, but your weakness is something entirely different. Your weakness—is Kit."

The Lone Power spoke faster now, his hot breath smothering Nita's ear. "Kit has held you from your true potential. He limits your power, Nita—you are sharing your power with him, and thus making his magic stronger, and your own weaker. Had you not met Kit, your magic would be at its full height by now. But now that Kit has damaged your magical capabilities, you may never see the forces you are entitled to."

Nita turned bit by bit away from Kit and toward the Lone Power. Her eyes had glazed over, but as she faced him, her eyes sharpened.

"I can give you more power, my little wizardling," the Lone Power breathed. "You can become my student, for lack of a better term, and I can teach you to reach your full potential."

Nita looked at him blankly. The Lone Power had no way of knowing what she was thinking, since somehow, her mind was blank to him once more. He let her think it over before prodding her gently again.

"Well, Nita? Are you willing to give up your pointless life and join me?"

Nita gazed thoughtfully at him. Then, as the Lone Power stared, unbelieving, she raised a hand as if to touch his cheek tenderly. But to his astonishment, Nita instead slapped him so forcibly that he saw stars.

"How dare you," she said in a low voice, rumbling with resentment. "How dare you offer me that which you cannot give? You tried to turn me against my own kind, to betray my own people. You wanted me to do what you yourself did all those years ago! How can you ask such as thing?" Nita's voice trembled with her fury. The Lone Power was surprised to feel the beginnings of alarm spread throughout his body.

"You ask me to join you because you are scared! You know that with all of my planet's wizards united, you don't stand a chance! Entropy may be diminishing our world, but you will never have anything to do with it ever again."

Tears of rage began to form in Nita's eyes, but she was too swept up in her anger that she barely noticed them. "I offered you the chance to change. The symbol at the end of your name—it allows you to make that change, to be different, good! Why don't you accept that?" She heaved a gigantic breath and whispered the rest. "Why does it have to be death? Why do you want it to be darkness?"

The Lone Power had no answer, and she knew it. Nita spat at his feet, turned, and stormed in the direction of Kit. Before she disappeared from the Lone One's view, she whispered in such a way that it carried all the way to where he stood. "Partner or not, Kit is my friend. I would do anything for him, just as he would for me. How many can say that about you?"

She disappeared, and the Lone Power let her. He watched her fading form silently. Now he truly was alone.

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**A/N: I tried a new way of wording, so Nita may sound a bit different here. What do you think of it?**

**Read and Review, please! I'll appreciate it always! Thanks!**


	12. Revival

Revival

**A/N: Here it is, the last chapter at long last! It's been a terrific journey, with lots of stops and starts, but all in all, I am so proud that this is the first ever story that I have finished! It means so much that you all are here to share it with me! Are you ready?? Warning: This chapter contains the most fluff that I've ever written yet to date! Be very afraid!**

**Please also check out the short epilogue, which involves Dairine and is a taste of my next story that I am currently working on, which chronicles Dairine's attempts to find and reunite with Roshaun.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize. It all belongs to Diane Duane.**

_Chapter Twelve: Revival_

_Epilogue _

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Nita walked away from the Lone Power, her head held high and her neck aching with the effort to keep it that way. She deliberately turned her back, because somehow, Nita was no longer afraid of the Lone One. She never dreamed that she would ever mouth off to him like she had, but now with that experience behind her, she felt full, alive, like she'd climbed atop Mount Everest with no magical help. A few tears dribbled down her cheeks, now that she wasn't facing him, but they were the ones that appeared just because Nita needed to make room for something else.

As she approached Kit, Nita reflected on the past arguments they'd had. She remembered how she had reacted when Kit had kissed her. She flushed, even now—it seemed so ridiculous, how she'd responded. She had completely eradicated him from her life, all because he had done the very thing she'd wanted him to. She had dreamed of that moment for so long: the moment that Kit admitted his feelings for her. But that's all it had been—a dream. A fantastic dream, but still a dream nonetheless. So when Kit had finally pulled through for her, finally kissed her, she'd completely bailed on him. Afraid of how to respond, Nita had instead cut all ties with Kit and turned into the hermit that she was finally starting to break out of.

Then there was the fight they'd had only a few hours ago. Kit had jumped to conclusions, and now they had suffered for it. Nita had acted without thinking on her part and, instead of transporting to Kit's kitchen, as she'd meant to, she had ended up here, in this godforsaken place. If only Kit had thought about his actions, or at least about hers. He should have known that Nita would never betray him, in any sense of the word, but because of his distrust in her, this whole thing with the Lone Power had transpired. Nita knew that it probably would have happened anyway, but the fact that it happened because of Kit irritated her to no end.

Nita sighed. The knowledge that the Lone Power had extracted the memories of her and Kit's new relationship had made Nita so alarmingly angry at first, but now that she knew of his plans, Nita could not help but feel a tiny ounce of respect for his way of trying to get her world's kernel. It honored her that he thought she was so valuable, but she also despised that it was she who was responsible for all this confusion and hatred.

Nit advanced toward Kit, a little wary. He just stood there, gazing at her, not speaking. She feared that it was because he was still under that spell of silence, but her worry evaporated when he walked over and drew her into his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, resting his forehead against hers.

She sighed softly, allowing her body to melt into his, the places where they touched tingling. "Yeah," she whispered, and lifted her face up to receive the kiss she knew was coming.

Instead, Kit drew away, putting some distance between them but not completely breaking free of her. "Nita, I am so sorry," he said seriously, his hands tightening around her upper arms. "It's true, I still feel jealous of Ronan, because he got to kiss you before I did. But," he continued, overriding her attempts to speak, "I would never hold that against you, or be badly behaved in front of you. I think it was the Lone Power's doing, heightening my feelings, because I would never, ever disgrace you like that."

She pondered that remark. "You might be right. It's possible that he just fed your feelings of jealousy, enhancing them to the point where you could not back away."

Kit shook his head, looking down at the ground. His hands dropped away, leaving Nita feeling colder than she should have felt. "I should have known that my emotions were being tampered with. I should have ignored them," he said shamefully.

Nita drew him close, wrapping her arms around his waist. "How could you have known?" she asked, squeezing him tightly. "How could _I_ have known?"

He put a hand under her chin, lifting it until Nita was looking into his eyes. She saw the same amount of affection there that had been in her dream, but now, seeing it in real life, she recognized that it wasn't affection at all. It was love, and it was love for her, and it was a feeling that she wrapped around her heart and let warm her entire body.

"I love you," he said, and kissed her. Nita forgave him, forgave all of his flaws, all of his mistakes, and knew that she loved him as well, and probably had since she had first laid eyes upon him. She allowed herself to be swept up in the intensity of the moment, the bursts of color that clouded her mind, and she realized that the feeling was akin to saying a wizardry, except that this was quite possibly the grandfather of all wizardries and was much more intimately satisfactory.

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The two set up the transport spell that would whisk them away to Nita's living room. They completed it almost without thinking, saying the Speech in unison and shutting their eyes tightly when the wizardry swept them along the current to Nita's home.

When they arrived, the first thing Nita saw was her father, who was sitting on the couch, reading a newspaper and drinking coffee. He looked up as they appeared, eyes widening when he saw that Kit had accompanied Nita.

"Still not accustomed to the two of you just appearing out of thin air," he said, choosing not to comment of Kit's ruffled hair and Nita's wrinkled shirt.

Kit looked at her, raising his eyebrows. She muffled a giggle, and they headed to Nita's backyard, where they saw that night had emerged. Nita lay down on the ground and leaned back. Kit took the spot beside her, and they intertwined their hands, keeping them in between the two of them, out of the view of the door. Nita felt a calmness spreading through her, and she sighed contently. _This is what being a wizard is about_, she thought, and she felt Kit's silent agreement.

But as each star twinkled back at her cheerfully, Nita felt a tiny pinprick of coldness enter her calm state of mind. She had found Kit, and their relationship was revived once more, but Nita knew that although this ordeal was over, it would not be the last time that she would encounter the Lone Power alone.

_Fin_

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_Epilogue_

Dairine heard Kit and Nita materialize in the living room from where she sat at her desk in her own bedroom. She positively _felt_ the joy radiating from each of them, and it almost made her sick. _Can't they tone it down any?_ she seethed silently.

Dairine knew she was being rude and inconsiderate, but at this point, she could hardly care less. While it was true that Nita had obviously been through hell these last few months, it was _nothing_ compared to Dairine's own experiences. _What does she know? _Dairine wondered, clenching her fists. _How could she ever have the capacity to feel as much loneliness as I do?_

Spot, sensing Dairine's anguish, stretched a small, plastic leg toward her and rubbed her arm affectionately. She yanked away, standing up and moving towards her window. Gazing out, Dairine glimpsed a view of the stars above, each of them glinting merrily. As Dairine looked, a falling star stretched across the sky, falling in a graceful arch across the horizon. A tear fell from Dairine's eyes as she watched, and she didn't bother to wipe it away. The feeling of emptiness inside her threatened to engulf her completely, but Dairine no longer cared. After all, why bother being a wizard when your own partner abandons you?

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**Please read and review! **

**-katiebug123 **


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